Tonsillectomy - swollen uvula and scabs falling off

I am 28 years old and on day 7 of my recovery. Days one and two weren't bad at all. I was talking, drinking, and sleeping a lot but I think I still had the drugs in me from the hospital. Days 3-6 were awful. Not only was I in pain from the surgery but I also had uncontrollable diarehea from the antibiotics... gross I know. Along with that I was getting very sick from the pain killer, liquid percocette. On day 6 and 7 I had some broth with noodles but other than that no food, lots of water, and some slimfast. I can't really open my mouth wide and haven't been able to brush my teeth well at all. I'm nervous about the scabs falling off becuase no one has really described what that feels like. I also have started using liquid tylenol instead of the pain killer because of the drugged up feeling the pain killers were giving me. I just hope this is over soon and I can start my new life with no tonsills!!!

I am 21 and on day 10 of recovery. The first day wasn't too bad. I was talking, though I sounded mute, and the pain wasn't horrible. I've stayed on top of my pain meds, Oxycodone, and really, the pain hasn't been as bad as I was thinking it would be. I didn't drink enough the first few days, it hurt too bad. But at about day 7 I was drinking normally. It still hurts to swallow but not enough that I can't eat. I am eating solid food again - started on day 6 with a couple small bites of funnel cake (it was our county fair, I had to have a little funnel cake!). In all honesty, my tongue was probably more painful than my tonsil beds. I still can't open my mouth wide, stick my tongue out as far as normal, or lick the fronts of all my teeth. My big question is about throat pain. I feel like the right side of my throat is blocked off. The left feels great! Now I know that nothing is stuck in it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't feel that way. I saw my ENT yesterday and he told me that it was just a scab coming off and pulling away causing the discomfort. Whenever I swallow, I feel like something sharp is poking me. The best way to describe the location is to press the place on your neck that you would if you were checking for a swollen lymph node, only in my throat. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this. I guess I just find it hard to believe a scab is a, that far down, and b, causing that much discomfort. I downed about 2000cc's of water in under 2 hours trying to "dislodge" whatever it was I though was stuck there, but to no avail. It also prevents me from eating a whole lot, because I constantly feel like my throat is blocked. I would really appreciate any input anyone has on this as it is driving me crazy! Thanks!

Okay, this is crazy. Not 2 minutes ago, I sneezed. Not going to lie, it really hurt. BUT amazingly, it knocked down that scab that was blocking the right side of my throat! Seriously! I feel like a miracle just happened. I was actually getting a little depressed over the issue. The scab is now stuck lower in the middle of my throat, but I really could care less. Now I know it will go down, eventually. Stay positive!


**edited by moderator**

Oh the scabs!! Its day 8 of my recovery right now. On the morning of day 6 I woke up with gritty stuff all over my mouth (which where the scabs). While brushing my teeth I coughed and some more came off (and out of my mouth-they taste horrible). So I coughed every once in a while during brushing my teeth throughout the day.... DO NOT COUGH OR EAT SCRATCHY THINGS IN THE INTENTION OF GETTING RID OF YOUR SCABS! I started bleeding-bad-and had to stay overnight at the hospital. The doctor told me gargle and just let them fall of naturally. Good luck. I still have much more to go and I am waiting for the rest to fall off... ugh-its day 8 recovery for me.

I love these forums. I have been reading since my post-op day 3. I am on Day 8 right now and I am not any better from the worse days. I have been told that after day 10 things start to get better. So only a few more days!! I ran out of my Lortab yesterday and so now I am afraid since nights are the worst! I can get through the day with extra strength tylenol, but the night is another story. I have been going through everything everyone is posting. I did not have any bleeding problems, so i am happy for that. The swelling is beginning to go down now. I have been having the WORST jaw pains though. I cant open my mouth very wide and constantly have an ice pack on my jaw. But this is apparently normal. As is the swollen ulva. Just bear through it.

My biggest advice I can give is, try to eat and drink as much as you can. I enjoyed Ensure, and campbells noodle soup for the last 8 days. No pain from those items. Also the occasional applesauce, jello, or pudding. Attempted to eat spaghetti yesterday, but chopped it up really small and had to eat it with a spoon. If you think you cant eat, try to eat shortly after taking your pain meds, helps immensely.

Good luck to everyone and I cant wait till this recovery is over!

So Im 21 and I had mine out on the 14th....so that puts me on day...6? lol Im not sure how to calculate it, It was crazy because the day of surgery I was telling my boyfriend that I had sore throats worse than what I was feeling that day....boy was I in for it, that next morning, he had to go to work and I was alone, I hadn't eaten enough with my pain meds (loratab) and I ended up throwing up ALL day, which SUCKED to say the least. So I called my doctor and had my prescription changed to Darvocet and that seemed to be a little easier on my stomach. The next couple of days were back and forth, I would feel awesome and then I would be stuck in bed with a icepack and lots of medicine. Last night and today have been horrible too, my ears are hurting more than ever, especially when I try to eat so that I can take meds, once I take them Im good though. No bleeding troubles yet, and unfortunately I dont have any ideas for anyone on whats good to eat, Ive just been doing the soup and stuff, my boyfriend got me mini muffins, which is a nice change, I just have to take really small bites, and its really hard for me to open my mouth wide enough for popsicles, but my tonsils were honestly HUGE before I had them taken out so my scabs are ridiculous. Only good news I have is that apparently I dont snore anymore...which is really only good news for the boyfriend...so far hes the only one reeping the benefits from my pain lol. But it has to get better at some point right? Good luck to everyone else! and thanks for the posts, they've helped me a lot so far

I am so glad to have found this forum, I am on day 5 and was at least glad to read what I can probably expect over the next week or so. I was in the same position, having some pain at the beginning but thinking it wasn't too unbearable and I just need to stay rested. Boy was I wrong. This past day and I am assuming the next few days are going to be hell. I have had chronic ear aches for the past few years and I am hoping this stops them, but I have had the worst ear aches from the tonsillectomy. I know its normal, but I have had ear anc throat problems for about a month before surgery and its really wearing on me. I'm starving as I know the rest of you are and have lost at least 8 pounds so far. I don't mind that part (being a girl lol) but if I lose too much more, that might not be good.

I am also a bit scared as to how long it might take to recover. I was rushed to ER when my throat was so swollen I could hardly breathe or swallow. They admitted me right away and did a CT scan and found I had an abcess. Then in surgery they found a whole bunch of abcess. So they drainded the abcesses and took out my tonsils and adnoids. My 20min surgery lasted about and hour and a half. So I am worried that with a more expensive surgery it will take longer to recover. I was also told I have mono so on top of surgery recovery, my body and immune system are already very weak. It just feels like I can't get energy to do anything. This also means another week or two out of work...I'd try and stuggle through it but I am a preschool teacher and one- am not allowed back with mono until the Dr says so ...and two- do not have the energy to take care of kids while I feel like this.

Anyway, I just wanted to post, partially to thank everyone for the info they posted on here...it helps for suggestions and to know there are others who know how you feel. I also woke up very early and in too much pain to sleep. It helps to get it out and try and concentrate on something besides pain.

Hope we all feel better soon :-)

It's day five for me too, and I think it's safe to say that this little surgery is not as easy as it's made out to be. I'm 17 years old and wishin' I had this done when I was a little kid. I went home about an hour and a half after my surgery. When I got home, I slept for a few more hours. I woke up unable to talk - this is understandable - and I ate WAY too much jell-o. It just felt so good on my throat... Anyway, I got really sick that night, and since I'm pretty sure none of you want to hear the details, let's just say my night ended in jell-o and blood all over my floor. I went to the hospital. Got some heavy-duty anti-nausea meds. The next day I could eat some pasta - I was excited about this; however, I haven't been able to down solid foods since. I still can't open my mouth wide enough to look in it or to even fit a spoon in. I also half issues with choking on my uvula or scabs - I can't tell since I haven't been able to see what the heck is going on back there. I have upped my meds. to two every four hours - it seems to be helping some. So I can expect this for another two days. Also, the T3's are making me super constipated. But thanks to this board, it looks like I'm going to survive. ;-)

I'm on day one. I must had my tonsils out at 8 this morning. They also did a uvulectomy (removed my uvula and trimed my soft palate). So I won't have the same swelling issues. I am quite scared about the scabs and where things will go from here. The way I feel now is great. I've been drinking tons, eating lots of push-pops and had a little soup. I'm on Hydrocodone I think. It seems to works a bit but I don't feel like I even need it that much. We'll see how the night goes, i may be in for a real surprise.

A week before my surgery, I logged onto this website(as well as others) and absolutely terrified myself. I must say, however, that it did prepare me for the "worst case scenario". After the surgery, I had very little pain...not bad at all. I ate eggs, tapioca pudding, basically anything soft. The second through the fifth day did not go that smoothly, but the pain was still well tolerated (still waited for that pain i read about). Yes, it hurts... Its like strep throat from hell, but it can easily be managed. Again, everyone's pain threshold is different. Just take your pain meds! Dont skip doses, even if your feeling better. I recommend not sleeping the first two days. I know that sounds weird, but it really helped. Wake yourself up every other half hour to drink water (i had my favorite I Love Lucy episodes to watch during those sleepless nights). The key is to avoid letting your scabs get dry. Set that alarm...I promise you will thank me later. A humidifier works well, too. As far as eating during those painful few days after surgery, Lipton chicken noodle soup will save you. Its a very soothing soup with noodles you can swollen with out chewing. Avoid anything that will create thick saliva or mucus...puddings, yogurts, milk, even ensure or Glucerna. Just stick with clear fluids. (Mashed potatoes sound great. They're soft right? WRONG. I attempted to eat them after 4 days. Big mistake. Even they were much too thick) Popsicles with melon, cantelope or non acidic flavors saved me at night. Make sure to have two ice packs for your neck. This will allow you to rotate every twenty minutes. Teas with honey was great. Oh, and remember NOT TO BEND FORWARD OR CREATE ANY PRESSURE TO THE THROAT! This can cause bleeding. Around days 6 through 8, my throat was dry, and my ears and tongue hurt. However,the pain in my throat began to improve. My scabs fell off on day six and I slept ever few hours. Sleeping slightly elevated helps. I started to notice that my swollen uvula was creating a suffocating, flap effect during exhalation from my nose.LOL...basically, the uvula was flapping forward when I would breath out and stop the air from going out my nose(not sure if that's an isolated incident or if that is widely experienced by others who have had a tonsillectomy). From days 8 on, the pain begins to substantially improve at a rapid rate. Im on day 14 and I still feel some throat dryness and pain...but its nothing compared to the first few days after the surgery. Talking too much will make my throat sore and dry, but chewing gum will help during this time. Although it is not the most comfortable experience, you will most surely be glad your had the procedure done. I hope this helps and reduces any fears or hesitations. Good Luck!

Wow I'm so glad people still talk on these forums! I'm on day 5. I can't believe it's been that long already. I had my tonsils/adenoids and a turbinectomy. My only main problem really was the strength of my pain meds. They made me sick to my stomach! I just cut the pills in half and it lessens the pain without jerking my stomach around. The thing I'm wondering about is how soon the scabs will come off. I'm ready for a big juicy cheeseburger covered in lots and lots of cheese and ranch. LOL (= Any ideas? I heard like 7-10 days. Not soon enough! haha... When I lay down though and start to sleep my throat relaxes and it's like when I exhale I get mucus blocking my airway. My nose is kinda blocked a little from the turbinectomy so it's really annoying to have a blocked throat also.

Thoughts?

day three post-op and my painkillers are not helping at all. i am on ultram and liquid hydrocodone.... i asked doctor for something stronger and he said there is nothing else except morphine... i am dying here... why aren't these meds helping?

I am 37 and on day 9. Day 2 I was back in the hospital due to the pain meds not working. I have a high tollerence for pain meds. I was admitted for 3 days on IV meds and fluids. Went home on percocet. Was back in the ER on day 7 from dehydration and vomitting. I only stayed to get to bags of fluids in and some pain meds. I ate 2 tbl spoons of mashed potatoes and I felt like I was swallowing glass. I would rather give birth than go through this again. Hope others do better then I have.

Was back in the er last night due to vomitting and couldnt keep pain meds in so after another bag of fluids and some reglan and morphine I am back home. I actually ate a pancake last night! Talk about heaven!!!

I am 28 yrs old on day 5 of my Tonsillectomy, and I tell you, this is the worsed pain ever. I would of gladly done another c-sec. The back of my throat is still white, the pain got bad, can't even drink sips of water. My ears are killing me and my jaws are so so painfully. :$
I can't wait for these scabs to fall off, so I can get back to my normal diet.
Any idea on when I should expect it to fall, how long does it take, how soon after do you feel better and can eat normally????? >:(

Help!!!